And now Gustav!

It looks like I will have to evacuate. I plan to leave Sunday, August 30 (although I am getting very antsy and may leave earlier), and drive up to Ruston, LA which is in the NW portion of the state. All the hotels there were booked up already by Thursday morning, but my friend Catherine and her husband Frank have graciously offered me their home. Since they live in a very small house and have no fenced yard, Catherine called around and found a woman who runs an air-conditioned kennel which will charge me $33 per day for boarding my 3 large dogs and the cat. (I had originally failed to find a motel in Ruston—the closest being an hour away in Camden, Arkansas—but the Camden hotel wouldn’t allow the larger dogs, despite the emergency evacuation.) Catherine and I will be able to cook, hang out, and visit the Tech campus. Since nothing else is going on, I should be able to visit the dogs daily. Boogie, the 15-lb YorkiPoo, can stay with me at Catherine’s. I am vastly relieved to have friends to stay with, as otherwise there would be nothing to break up a steady diet of watching the weather channel like a zombie. That's all we did during Katrina, and to do it alone would certainly be unhealthy.

My friend and psych colleague Lee has offered to help me board up the windows and do whatever else is needed in the meantime. This past week he has been a saint about helping me with putting up curtain rods, fixing locks, and other household things. Today I was to hear whether or not River Oaks Hospital (where I take consults) will be closing down and evacuating. To me it’s a moot point. I am not even sure as to whether or not I shall attend the continuing education seminar that I signed up for on tomorrow. It is amazing to me that it is not yet canceled. Even Loyola University has cancelled classes on Friday and Tuesday. Supposedly the PetSmart manager will be taking all the store’s animals to Covington across the lake sometime this weekend. The shelter cats whom I care for in the evenings are to be moved today or tomorrow.

Despite the fact that I now have the beginning of a psych practice here in LA, I just might move to Austin, TX if the house sustains major damage. I don’t know. I hope to post my plans here. Moving is a nightmare, but evacuating is like a minor move, only repeated over and over.

Earlier today I delivered a letter from Kate to Joel's grave site. It had arrived in today's mail, so I knew I needed to deliver it right away before the traffic became congested. Since the cemetery had been closed for nearly an hour, I had to climb the fence to get in and out. Fortunately no one seems to have seen me.

Next, I need to go get cash, gas up the car, and begin the laborious project of packing. The worst part will be identifying all the financial papers and such that I have not yet organized since Joel’s death. I am also overwhelmed at the number of framed pictures, photo albums and the like that I need to take. After going through Katrina, I want to have my work materials from both jobs and lots of my favorite clothes with me.

My friends Lee and Catherine and even Kate's counselor at school, Sara, are taking great care of me emotionally. I’ve packed before and I know what I’m doing. It should be a lot easier not having to fit several birdcages into the van. Now that I have a place to stay, I really should have no worries.

For anyone who thinks of calling me: FYI, house phones do not work during hurricanes, and cell phones often die out too—although sometimes they will still work for text messaging. If you get a text message from a (504) number, it could be one from me. I shall try to update this whenever there is news.